Air turbine exhauster for locomotives



Sept. 8, 1931. F. H. c. coPPus 1,822,081

AIR TURBINE EXHAUSTER FOR LOCOMOTIYES Filed Jan. 27, 1930 the roundhouse. steam blower is usually made by pipes with Patented Sept. 8, 1931 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANS H. C. COTPUS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIC11\TORv TO ANNA M. C.

WECHSBERG, VERA L. WOOD, AND FRANS E. C. COPFU'S, TRUSTEES, ALL OF WORCES- TER, MASSACHUSETTS AIR TURBINE EXHAUSTER FOR LOCOMOTIVES Application filed January 27, 1930.

This invention relates to improved means for drafting locomotives in roundhouses during the firing-up period and for furnishing ventilation when men are working in the fire-box of a hot locomotive.

It has been common practice to furnish the required draft or ventilation by blowing live steam through a steam blower usually located in the front end of the locomotive directly under the smoke-stack. To furnish steam for this purpose a high pressure boiler plant is maintained and a steam pipe run from one end of the roundhouse to the other with side branches to each stall of The connection to the flexible joints. The stand-by losses of this arrangement are very heavy, the condensation in the pipe line and the leakage through the joints is considerable and the escaping steam is very injurious to the roundhouse structure and the equipment in it. It is one of the objects of this invention to eliminate all of this and to substitute an exhauster J driven by compressed air from a main pipe line with branches to each stall of the roundhouse.

Instead of using live steam and the steam blower, motor driven exhausters are now being used. lVhile this is a great improvement and very economical in power consumption it requires costly equipment Jfor protecting the motor against the gases, low voltage and overload and it is not as flexible as the steam blower inasmuch as the draft created depends entirely upon the speed of the exhauster which is within the limitation of the speed. of the motor and in practice it has been found that only alternating current motors can be used operated at either full or half speed. It is .one of the objects of this invention to combine the advantage of the fief-:ibility of the steam blower method with most of the advantages of the motor driven exhauster by providing an exhanster Serial No. 423,583.

driven by a simple and inexpensive com` pressed air turbine at any speed desired by supplying more or less air to the turbine.

Other objects of the invention are to provide means for quickly transferring the eX- hauster from one locomotive to another; tol

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the fan and the turbine of the exhauster;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a part et a roundhouse showing the voverhead tracking for two stalls, which may be extended, arranged according to this invention and its relation to the smoke-jacks but without illustrating details;

Fig. l is a View similar to Fig. 3 showing a dil'l'erent arrangement of the overhead tracking for a pair of stalls only and` in addition thereto the piping arrangement with valves for automatically opening and shiciltting off the air supply to the turbine, an

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of Fig. 3 on a larger scale.

Fig. l shows the air driven eXhauster on top of a locomotive stack l. The exhauster has a housing consisting of a substantially cylindrical outer casing 2 having a flared intake portion 3, so that it will fit on stacks of different sizes, a substantially cylindrical inner casing 4 connected with the outer casing by tubes 5, and a bearing housing 6 connected with the inner casing by radial arms 7.

A shaft 8 is supported by two ball bearings 9 within the bearing housing, which is closed at the top by an enclosure 10. The lower ball bearing is held against a shoulder on the shaft by a nut 11 and the upper ball bearing similarly by means ot a spacing ring 12, the hub 13 of the exhauster fan and a nut 14. Between the hub 13 of the exhauster fan and an annular ring 15 are located fan blades 16 which draw cold air for cooling the motor housingandl bearings through the tubes 5 and the annular space formed by the inner casing 4 and the bear ing housing 6. Fan blades 17., which` draw the gases through the exhauster, extend from the hub 15. Each bladeY isvprovided with a lug 18 to which is fastened a ring 19holding turbine buckets 20. To the outer casing 2 of the exhauster is bolted an outlet casing 21 which surrounds the Afan blades 17 and forms withy a flare 220i the casino' 2 a chamber within which the turbine revolves.

The casing 21 is provided with two lugs 23 and 24 which have trunnions 25 and 26 respectively on which the exhauster. isy carried by a tubular form 27 (Figs. 4 and 5) with prongs 28 andj 29. The. end of the prong 28 (Fig. 1) is provided with a ping 30 and drilledv to iorm a bearing er'the trunnion 25. The end of the prong 29 is provided with an elbow 31 into the open end orn which is screwed. the hollow t'unnion 26. rhis trunnion is inserted from the inside of the casing 21 through a hole normally closed by a plug 32, through a pocket 33 in the lug 24: and a finished hole in the lug which iorms a bearing for the hollow trunnion. It will be noted 'that the finished hole is countersunk and that the hollowtrunnion is provided with a beveled end'tlr-.is forming together' a joint which prevents compressedv air in the pocket 33 from escaping, the pressure of the air tending to press the beveled end of the trunnion against its seat. Compressed air is ted through. the prong 29' andv the hollow trunnion 26` to thepocket 33. From the pocket 33 one or more nozzles 34 direct the compressed air to the'buckets 2() of the turbine. Through one or more ports 35 in the iiared portion 22of the casing 2. the exhaust oi' 'the turbine may escape. In Figs. 4 and 5 I have shownl a. flexible air'hose'36 connected to the end of the tubular fork 27 as the means of the air supply to the prong 29 and hence to the pocket 33.

In Fig. 3 I have shown diagrammatically va monorail 38 with branches through the usual switches leading to the smoke-jacks 40. If this method of transporting the exhauster from stall to stall is used a flexible hosev connected to the end of the tubular fork and provided with a union coupling may be Lseaosi connected to an air supply at each stall. My preferred form of application, however, is shown in Figs. 4 and 5 where the stalls are provided with a permanent air supply and where the air is automatically turned on when the exhauster approaches the smokejack. The fork 27 with the exhauster 41 on one end and a counterweight 42 on the other end is carried by a trolley 43 on an- I-beam or'monorail 44 which, as shown in Fig. 4, loops between two jacks 40. A main air line 45 supplies air to branch pipes 46 which first run horizontally, then upward to near the roof of the roundhouse and then again horizontally with a' tee 47- halt way between the two jacks.. From. this tee the air is fed through the flexible hose 36 to the tubular fork and hence to the turbine. In the horizontal branches 46 leading direct from the main air line 45 are valves 48 which are opened or closed by an arm 49v (Fig. 5) connected to the trolley 43. Then the exhauster hangs from the I-beam anywhere between these two valves as shown in Fig. 4, orinstance, the valves are closed, but when it is moved towards one of the jacks and by one of the'valves, the arm 49 engages with aV handle on the valve 48 and opens it. It will be seen that by doing so air is supplied to the flexible hose 36 and hence to the turbine of the exhauster. Then the exhauster is moved back the arm 49 again engages with the handle of the valve 48 and closes it. In this manner the exhauster is started and stopped automatically while applying it to and removing it from the stack of a locomotive.

It will be seen therefore that thissystem sutliciently flexible for all purposes; that the losses through condensation and' leakage are much less than in the other systemsdescribed above; that it is economical in power consumption and requires only comparatively inexpensive equipment; that the driving of the exhauster is very inexpensive and the speed can be controlled readily; that the exhauster can be transferred quickly and easily from one locomotive to another; that the air is automatically shut off from the turbine or supplied to it by moving the exhauster away from or toward a locomotive smoke-stack and that the compressed air is fed to the exhauster in a very simple manner through the tubular fork.

Although I have illustrated and described only two forms of the invention, I am aware of the fact that other modiiications can be made therein by any person skilled in the art without departing from the scope ot the invention as expressed in the claims. There- 'ore, I do not wish to be limited to all the details of construction herein shown and described, but what I do claim is 1. In an exhauster for the purpose described, the combination with an outer casing having an inner' casing therein, an inlet for air through the outer casing to the inner casing, a passage for air and products of combustion up through the space between the inner casing and the outer casing, a fan having blades in registration with the outer casing and blades in registration with the inner casing, turbine buckets mounted on the blades ofsaid fan, and means for directing a fluid against the blades to rotate the fan, whereby the fan blades will draw the air and products of combustion up through the spaceV between the outer casing and inner casing to draft a locomotive and the inner blades will draw external air through the inner casing to cool the bearings of the fan.

2. In an eXhauster, the combination of an intake casing, an out-let casing in registration therewith, a fan in the outlet casing, trunnions on the outlet casing for supporting it, one of said trunions being hollow, means for introducing fluid through the hollow trunnion, turbine buckets on the blades of said fan and means for directing the fluid from said hollow trunnion against the turbine buckets to rotate the fan.

3. In an exhauster, the combination of an intake casing, an outlet casing located above the same and in registration therewith, the two casings being securely fixed together, a fan in the outlet casing, trunnions on the outlet casing for supporting it, one of said trunnions being hollow, means for introducing compressed fluid through the hollow trunnion, a fan or blower in the outlet casing for drawing air through the outlet casing, turbine buckets secured to the blades of said fan and means vfor directing the compressed fluid against the turbine buckets to rotate the fan, said intake casing having a flared top projecting' inwardly to a point nearer the center than said buckets and perforated to allow the exhaust from the turbine to enter into the intake casing.

Li. In an eXhauster, the combination of an intake casing, an outlet casing located above the same and in registration therewith, the two casings being securely fixed together, trunnions on the outlet casing for supporting it, one of said trunnions being hollow, means for introducing compressed fluid through the hollow trunnion, a fan or blower in the outlet casing for drawing air through the outlet casing, turbine buckets secured to the blades of said fan, jets for directing the compressed fluid against the turbine `buckets to rotate the fan, means for supporting the trunnions movably and means for automatically controlling the supply of compressed fluid to the turbine by motion of the casing.

5. The combination with an eXhauster for locomotive smoke-stacks, and trunnions for supporting said exhauster, one of said trunnions being hollow, of a tubular fork for supporting the trunnions, means for supplying compressed air through said tubular fork and through the hollow trunnion, a fan in the exhauster having turbine buckets, nozzles connected with the hollow trunnion for operating said fan, a track, a trolley on the track, means connected with the trolley 'for supporting the fork, a supply pipe for introducing air under compression into the fork,va valve for controlling said supply, and means on the trolley Yfor opening and closing said valve in accordance with the position of the trolley on the track.

6. An apparatus for drafting locomotives comprising an exhauster and tubular means for supporting the exhauster, said means being adapted to conduct compressed air to the eXhaust'er for driving the same.

7. An apparatus for drafting locomotives comprising an exhaust fan, a turbine wheel mounted on the periphery of said fan, and tubular means for supporting thel eXhauster, said means being adapted to conduct compressed fluid to the turbine wheel of the eXhauster for driving the same.

8. An apparatus for drafting locomotives comprising an exhauster, a turbine to drive the exhauster, and tubular means for supporting the exhauster, said means being adapted to conduct compressed air to said turbine.

9. In an eXhauster, the combination of a casing, a fan in the casing, means associated with said fan constituting a turbine, trunnions on the casing for supporting it, one 0f said trunnions being hollow, means for introducing fluid through the hollow trunnion and means for directing the fluid from said hollow trunnion against the buckets of the turbine to rotate the fan.

l0. In an eXhauster for the purpose described, the combination with a casing and a fan therein, of means associated with said fan constituting a turbine, means for sup-` porting the exhauster and means for directing fluid to the turbine through said supporting means for driving the fan.

ll. In an exhauster for the purpose described, the combination with a casing and a.`

fan therein, of means associated with said fan constituting a turbine, means for supporting the exhauster, means to supply said supporting means with compressed air and means to direct the compressed air from said t supporting means to the buckets of the turbine or driving the fan.

12. In an exhauster for the purpose described, the combination with a casing and a fan therein, of means for supporting the eX- hauster movably, means to rotate the fanv by compressed air and means for automatically controlling the supply of compressed air by motion of the casing.

13. Inan eXhauster for the purpose de-w scribed, the combination of a casing, a fan l in the casing, means to rotate the fan by Compressed air, affork for supporting the eX- llauster, av tracka trolley on the track, means connected-With the trolley for supporting the fork, a supply pipe for thevcompressed air, a Valve in said pipe and means on the trolley for opening'andv closing said valve n accordance with thefposton of the trolley on the track..

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affxecl ,my signature.

FRANS H. C. COPPUS. 

